Not Leaving
by sdbubbles
Summary: What if Gibbs had taken his and Jenny's conversation further at the end of 'Escaped? For Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs.


**A/N: This is my take on what may have happened when Jenny visited Gibbs in 'Escaped,' if one of them had made a move. For Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs. Hope you and Evelyn are doing OK!**

**Hope you like!**

**Sarah x**

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"When you're as good at something as you are, when you can make a difference like you can, you just don't quit," Jenny explained to Gibbs in earnest. They were currently in his basement.

"Yet you don't want me back," Gibbs stated. She was frustrating him now. Either she wanted him to return, or she didn't. "Why? Because I'm a pain in the ass? Because I seem to attract trouble?"

"Stop being so God damn idiotic, Jethro," Jenny scolded him. She briefly touched his face. "I can't see you in hospital again."

"It's part of the job, remember? The number of times you were shot, you'd think you were a magnet for bullets," he chuckled lightly. He could see where she was coming from; he'd been blown up twice, shot more times than he could remember and, most recently, suffered bad amnesia.

"Jen, you know me. I'm too stubborn to stay retired. Ziva was right today. I need to be active for me to think straight. And fixing Mike's roof can only amuse someone for so long," he added.

"Me getting shot isn't the same as you getting blown up," Jenny explained gently. "Me getting hurt is totally different from you getting hurt."

Gibbs stared at her in bewilderment. "What does that mean, Jenny?"

"It means that you are worth a hell of a lot more to this world than I am, and I'll be damned if I'm going to put you in danger!" Jenny told him loudly. "You'll do what you want to. I know that. But I need you to know that I'm not trying to be a bitch when I say that I'd rather you didn't come back!"

Gibbs slapped her on the back of the head in a desperate attempt to stop her ranting. And it was punishment for saying that she was worth less than him.

"What was that for?" she demanded.

"One, to shut you up, and because that has to be _the_ stupidest thing you've ever said. 'You're worth a hell of a lot more than I am,'" he quoted. "What the hell, Jen?"

"What? It's true," she insisted with a frown. "All I do is sit in an office and give orders."

"And how do you expect a federal agency to run with nobody to boss them around?" Gibbs quizzed her. "Are you questioning yourself?"

"So what if I am?" Jenny flared up suddenly. "Everyone does. It's not even any of your business."

Gibbs stood up so that his face was inches from Jenny's. She was becoming irritating now. "Yeah, well maybe it's not your job that matters so much. When I was in the coma, who was it that stayed all night with me, after even Abby left?"

"Me," she answered quietly. She didn't even understand what made her stay so long. Maybe it had been the fact that he was so defenceless, lying in that hospital bed.

"And who was it who tried to convince me I wasn't wrong before I left?" Gibbs requested." "Me," she sighed.

"See? You're a good person, Jenny. And if you ever say anything like that again, I will head-slap you so hard your children will feel it."

Jenny laughed when she remembered the time he'd asked her something. She still wasn't sure if he'd been serious. "That an offer, Jethro?" she joked. "Remember when you said that to me?"

"You asked if I ever thought about having a kid of my own. I could've told you the truth there and then. But I didn't," he admitted. "I thought about telling you."

"Then why didn't you?" Jenny asked. "I would've understood."

"I know you would. But that didn't change the fact that it hurt to even think about them," Gibbs gave her an explanation.

Jenny looked at him sadly. She pulled him into a hug. She knew she'd crossed the line she'd drawn when she'd become Director. And right now, she couldn't care less. Her friend needed her. OK, so she wished he was more than her friend, but she didn't have the guts to tell him. As Jethro's arms squeezed her gently, she felt lighter than usual. Less worried.

"You understand what you mean to me, right?" he asked, catching Jenny unawares. She hadn't expected their conversation to take this turn.

"Pain in the ass boss, bitch who left you with a note, woman who stops you doing anything stupid," she listed.

Gibbs shook his head. "You left out friend and woman I wish would see how I feel about her," he confessed unexpectedly. He never, ever admitted how he felt. Ever.

"Whoa, where did that come from?" Jenny enquired.

"I don't know," replied Gibbs. Jenny knew she wasn't brave enough to _tell _him, but she could still let him know that she loved him. She stroked his face and looked into his ice blue eyes. He kissed her forehead and mussed her fiery red hair. "You're the one person who watches everything I do. And then gives me hell for it," he laughed.

"Only so you don't get hurt," Jenny reasoned.

"I know," he sighed.

"Like when you stayed in that classroom with Kody and the rest of the kids. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that not a single one of them deserved to die," he gave her sternly.

"That is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. Do you realize how close I came to going down to that high school? The only reason I didn't was-"

"Ducky," he cut her off mid-sentence. "He told me that you were armed and ready to go, and that he had to tell you that you would be a burden."

"I was and he did," Jenny confirmed the ME's version of events. "I'm…protective. You ought to know that by now." She swallowed hard. She had to tell him. "Because I love you," she mumbled, just loud enough to hear.

Gibbs kissed her softly on the lips. He hadn't felt this way about anyone since Shannon died, and then since Jenny left. She had her arms around his neck, and was crushing her lips into his. Gibbs pulled back. "I love you, too. And Tony better get his magazines out of my desk, because I'm coming back."

"If you're coming back, _you're _clearing the desks," Jenny laughed. Tony wasn't going to suffer anymore than he had to, nor were McGee and Ziva.

"I can live with that." Gibbs entwined their fingers and kissed her again. "It was an offer, by the way."

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**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Please review!**

**Sarah x**


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